


Wondering

by AmazingTomHollandisnotonfire



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Communication, Confessions, Deleted Scenes, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Carlos, Gay Disaster Seb, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Sorry, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Pining, Protective Seb, Seb has a supportive macho family, Seb has an older brother and sister don't try and change my mind, Seblos, Seblos fandom posts no content so I had to do it myself, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, high school sucks and Carlos deserves better, why doesn't anyone ever listen to Carlos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21976222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazingTomHollandisnotonfire/pseuds/AmazingTomHollandisnotonfire
Summary: Based on the two pictures from 1x06 that never made it into the episode.Carlos get's a phone call from Miss Jenn and Seb just wants to help. Cue a disaster of a rehearsal, a sad Carlos, and these two dealing with their feelings.
Relationships: Carlos/Seb Matthew-Smith
Comments: 7
Kudos: 73





	Wondering

Ten minutes before rehearsal, Seb and Carlos were sitting in the bomb shelter waiting for Miss Jenn and the rest of the cast and crew to arrive. Getting to rehearsal early was the newest development in their still unestablished "relationship". Carlos always arrived early to go over what he would be teaching that day, so when Seb walked in early one day to see Carlos dancing on his own, he decided that he would show up early more often if it meant witnessing more of Carlos' dancing. Or just witnessing Carlos in general.

The two sat quietly, Seb on the piano bench and Carlos on the long bench against the wall, individually pretending to be busy on their phones. Both boys were too nervous to initiate conversation, not knowing where to start. Yes, they had gone to homecoming together, but neither of them knew where they stood past that.

Seb still felt horrible about the Homecoming incident. No, he did not lie to Carlos; his family really had lost one of their cows. Seb's family had a lot of cows, but this particular cow happened to be a favorite of his older sister's so his mom was too busy calling her at school to drive him to the dance. While Seb was upset, he was more worried about how his date was at the dance without him, something Carlos did not deserve. Even though Carlos accepted his apology, the look Carlos gave him when he walked up to him was a look that Seb never wanted to see on Carlos' face again, especially not when he was the cause. Dancing with Carlos was amazing, but did Carlos only do it because the dance number was over and he didn't want to be alone again? Because he wanted a date? Seb hoped that it was because Carlos truly did forgive him and still liked him but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Seb looked to his left to see Carlos on his phone, hair falling into his eyes and Seb had to fight the urge to go over and move it away and continuously run his hand through the soft locks. Carlos looked up and caught Seb's eyes, forcing the blond to quickly look back down at whatever Instagram picture was currently on his own screen.

Carlos loved being around Seb. From the minute Carlos entered middle school he had trouble making friends (as a gay dancer from Utah would) so the company was a nice change for him. But Seb was different than the people Carlos had been forced to spend time with in the past. Seb was kind, passionate, caring, and real, and Carlos love-liked…liked him for it. Carlos had admired Seb from afar since _Brigadoon_ but seeing him kill it as Sharpay really did it for Carlos. Seb was so utterly and unapologetically himself that it inspired Carlos to be more himself during rehearsal. So when Seb asked Carlos for private dance lessons, Carlos was happy to help. Getting to know Seb more personally only deepened Carlos' feelings. In no other circumstance would he had been able to ask a boy to homecoming, but with Seb it seemed so simple - either ask him or regret not asking him, missing out on his crush since the previous East High musical and yet another school dance. So understandably, Seb's absence at the dance hurt, and while Mr. Mazzara, Ashlyn, and the others who danced with him did help, Carlos didn't feel completely okay until he was slow dancing with Seb in the middle of the gym, something he had been dreaming about for so long now. But now he didn't know what to think. Did Seb even like him in a more-than-friends way? Did he only agree to go to homecoming because he didn't want to piss off the choreographer or because of the private lessons? Carlos' mind was racing but halted when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Carlos looked up and met Seb's striking blue eyes, a personal favorite feature of Carlos'. However, the second their eyes met, Seb looked back down at his phone, avoiding Carlos' gaze. Carlos sighed. _Exactly my point._

Suddenly, Carlos' phone began to ring and Miss Jenn's name was flashing on his screen. Carlos smiled - he absolutely loved Miss Jenn and was always happy when they talked. Previous drama teachers didn't even glance in his direction and practically forgot he existed unless they were making a snide comment about his appearance, voice, or skills as a dancer. None of them would have ever given him the chance Miss Jenn did, and Carlos was still so grateful.

"Carlos, hey hun." She sounded panicked.

"Miss Jenn, is everything okay?" Carlos stood up. Seb looked up from his phone but didn't say anything, just looking at Carlos trying to get a read on the situation.

"Everything is fine except that I may be out of a job in twenty-four hours." Carlos' heart stopped at that but he didn't let it show in his voice or physical appearance, hoping that she was either joking or he misunderstood.

"Miss Jenn, I can't see your face so I don't know if you're kidding."

"Carlos, I'm currently holding a box of my office supplies and walking to my car."

"Oh my god." Carlos paced away from Seb and ran a hand through his hair. "What happened?"

"I…Carlos I may have exaggerated one or two credits on my resume. Principal Gutierrez is a little too literal for my taste, but here we are."

"Where's here-"

"The important thing is that you keep this train on the tracks. Hopefully, all will be cleared up when I sit before the school board tomorrow, okay?"

"Wait, what?"

"Keep rehearsal on today and don't speak a word of this to anyone. In the theater, morale is everything." Carlos heard another voice in the background but he couldn't make out who it was, too in shock to even register what was happening anymore. "Carlos, I have to go."

"Miss Jenn, wait-"

"Trust the process." The line went dead. Carlos lowered his phone from his ear and just stared at it, not sure what else to do with himself. His mind was going a mile a minute but only one thought stuck out.

_Miss Jenn is gone._

-

Seb watched Carlos as he talked on the phone with Miss Jenn and as each minute passed he got more nervous. Carlos kept pacing and running his hand through his hair and Seb had no idea what that meant. Clearly, something bad had happened, but Carlos was always so calm and collected. That's what scared Seb the most. He heard Carlos get more panicky until he just lowered his phone and stared at it, stillness and silence taking over his usually dramatic form. Seb stood up from where he sat and looked worryingly at the back of Carlos' head. A minute passed before Seb spoke up.

"Carlos?" Nothing. Carlos didn't even flinch, clearly too lost in his own head. Seb tried again. "Carlos?" Carlos quickly looked behind him and almost dropped his phone in the process, clearly forgetting Seb was still in the room. "Everything okay…?" Seb asked cautiously.

"hm? Oh yes, everything is great, excellent, terrific even!" Carlos began walking back towards the bench to grab his notes and then stood still grimacing, finger tapping vigorously on the black binder and he looked around nervously

"You sure? Because you seem-" Seb got cut off as the cast entered the bomb shelter. EJ walked in first, not caring enough to notice the scene he interrupted. Ashlyn entered next, quickly followed by Nini, Gina, Ricky, Big Red. The rest of the cast finished trickling in before the door shut and the students began sitting where Carlos had just vacated. Seb stopped talking but his eyes never left Carlos. He sighed and sat back onto the piano bench. Seb saw how Carlos' face fell at the sight of the cast and crew but before anyone else could notice, he perked up and began.

"Okay people, let's stage a number!" The cast looked at each other, confused at the absence of their drama teacher. Seb, on the other hand, couldn't help but grin at Carlos' returned dramatics

"Is Miss Jenn coming?" Nini asked as she took a seat next to Seb who quickly glanced her way, missing the dread that took over Carlos' features for a second.

"Miss Jenn had a small personal matter to attend to and won't be here today."

"Oh, is everything alright?"

"Good question," Seb muttered to himself. Carlos raised and dropped his arms slowly, the obviously fake smile not leaving his face - or was it only noticeably fake to Seb?

"Everything's fine," Carlos chuckled nervously. "Why would you guys even ask that?" He laughed again. Seb's smile faltered a bit. He knew something was wrong. The room was silent as the cast looked at each other with confused glances, similar to Nini and Seb. "Okay! Gabriella, I need you downstage on this mark." Carlos practically ran over to Nini and pulled her up, dragging her to the spot. "Troy, stage right. Chad, stage left box. Um, other boys, find a box." Seb noticed Carlos getting more nervous with his hand motions but he stayed quiet.

"Uh, are they onstage with me while I'm singing?" Nini asked.

"Yes, they will be frozen in various poses to come as the ballad builds, Nini, you will be wandering through a forest of boys."

"Wait. What does that mean?" Carlos was getting frustrated now.

"Do you know what a forest of trees looks like?"

"I do."

"Okay, but with boys."

"And, uh…No I'm sorry, why?" Carlos sighed and shook his head. Even Seb now was getting frustrated.

"Because your heart has just been shattered and you can't stop thinking about how amazing Troy is. Let's go." Carlos quickly turned away from her and pointed to Seb. Seb nodded and turned towards the piano and started playing until they once again got interrupted.

"Uh, no, I'm sorry, but at this point in the show Troy just sold me out to his teammates."

"She's got a point. What Troy did was kind of unforgivable. Respectfully, Carlos, I think the last thing anyone wants in this moment is four more versions of him." _Respectfully? Yeah right. Like it's ever respectful when it comes to me._ Carlos resisted the urge to roll his eyes but he couldn't hide his flinch which went unnoticed by everyone except Seb who had stopped playing the piano and was solely focused on Carlos. As the cast kept arguing and suggesting different approaches to the song, Seb couldn't help but get irritated. He just wanted to stand up and tell everyone to shut up and listen to the choreographer who was getting more panicked as more people joined into boycotting his vision. Carlos just dropped his arms in frustration as the cast got louder. He lost all his patience and snapped.

"Okay, you guys, this is not a democracy!" The room went silent. Carlos was breathing heavily, officially fed up with everything and everyone.

"Carlos, are you okay? 'Cause it's not that deep we can all come back when Miss Jenn gets here-"

"Well, she's not here and I don't know if she's ever coming back!" _So much for not telling anyone._

"Wait, what?" Ricky asked as the rest of the cast stared at Carlos as if he was crazy.

"Is this a joke?"

"She's in deep trouble, you guys. They're saying she lied on her job application, and there's a school board meeting in less than twenty-four hours and she's probably going to lose her job. I wasn't supposed to tell any of you, but I'm trying to do my best here." Carlos' voice got more desperate at the end, begging for someone to understand how hard this was for him. But no one else seemed to notice or care about his feelings.

"I can't believe it."

"What are we even doing in rehearsal?"

"Wait, how can we have a show if we don't have a teacher?" Carlos couldn't handle all these questions. How could they not understand that he didn't have all the answers? Seb looked at Carlos from the piano, not knowing if what he was going to say would help or not but he couldn't just sit there while everyone attacked him.

"You know you could have told me," he said with a soft smile, trying to show Carlos that he did not blame him for this, regardless of what everyone else was doing.

"Miss Jenn asked me not to," Carlos answered quietly. Carlos was grateful that Seb didn't seem mad at him but he also felt guilty.

"Wow, Carlos, what else are you not telling us?" EJ started again, starting another chain of arguing from the cast. Carlos just looked down in shame and Seb just watched in horror as Nini got up and left, followed by Kourtney and the rest of the cast and crew. Seb started packing up his things as Gina and Ricky tried to get everyone to stay, failing miserably.

"Rehearsals are officially canceled until further notice!" Carlos shouted. He knew nobody was listening and he wasn't surprised. Them not listening is what started this whole mess anyway.

Seb watched as the entire cast bailed and as he started to as well, he stayed back. He couldn't just leave Carlos here without saying something. Gina asked Ricky about the acoustic solo he had mentioned earlier and the two left for the auditorium, leaving Seb and Carlos alone once again. Carlos sighed and dropped his arms again, turning around to walk out the back when he jumped at the sight of Seb still standing there. They stared at each other for a moment, neither knowing how to even begin. Finally, Seb spoke up.

"I'm sorry," Carlos just let out a weak chuckle in response, dropping his head backward.

"It's whatever. They never even listen to me about the choreography, I don't know why Miss Jenn ever thought I could keep this show going. I'm a failure as her assistant."

"Carlos that's not tr-"

"Yes, it is Seb! You saw what just happened! Even before I told everyone about miss Jenn I couldn't even get them to listen to my stupid forest of boys idea. I couldn't get Ricky to stay in the show, I couldn't get Ricky and Nini to twirl or dip, and I couldn't get EJ and Gina to stop fighting and take the damn program picture! I can't do anything Seb! Everyone was right! The past drama teachers, my old bullies, Mr. Mazzara, everyone was right! I am nothing more than a pathetic punchline with no friends under the age of thirty-five. I can't do anything so I don't know why I even bother anymore." Carlos turned around to leave the room when Seb ran forward and grabbed his upper arm.

"Hey! That is not true! I haven't been talking for that long, but I have known you since last year, and since then I have picked up a lot of things. I know how horribly the drama teachers treated you last year but I know it was only because you cared so much more than they did and they were embarrassed to admit you should have been in charge instead of them, so they mocked you. You were chosen by Miss Jenn to choreograph this entire show, as a sophomore at that. You stood here and tried to keep this going with no more than a couple minute's notice, so no you are not pathetic. They only aren't listening to you because you are a sophomore and the social hierarchy of classes is so important at this school that seniors and juniors would never give in to you. As for the friends thing, I know we haven't talked yet but at the very least I consider you a friend." Carlos stared at Seb wide-eyed and mouth gaped. Their eye contact never broke, the only sounds filling the room were their heavy breathing. Carlos collapsed onto the piano bench and Seb followed suit, watching as the boy in front of him burst into tears, something Seb never wanted to see from the seemingly confident boy again.

"I don't know what to do Seb. Miss Jenn is counting on me to keep this show on the tracks but I can't do it. I need her. It sounds stupid but when she let me be the choreographer I felt so happy. It was like for the first time someone saw my love of dancing and theater as a good thing and not as something to make fun of me for. I felt, hopeful? Without her I…what if we get another teacher? It won't be the same. She won't care as much and most likely they won't let me do my job and I just-" Carlos kept wiping the tears from his face but they kept coming. Seb could only watch, wanting nothing more than to physically comfort the crying boy but also not wanting to overstep.

"You know, when I was in seventh grade I started getting into musical theater. I didn't tell anyone in my family because I didn't know what they would say. A show tune would come on in the car or High School Musical would be on tv and my entire family would start making fun of it. 'why are they singing in the middle of the cafeteria?' 'the concept is so stupid.' 'don't these guys have anything better to do than wear costumes and dance?' It wasn't until they caught me dancing to 'Status Quo' in our living room when I was supposed to be home alone that they understood why I never made fun of musicals with them. They still question it sometimes but they never make fun of theater anymore. Actually, when they found out some guys at school were giving me a hard time about it, my brother and sister went in and beat them up." Seb laughed at the memory. "I haven't told them about Sharpay. Even though I still scared about judgment but I know deep down that they will be okay with it. I don't know if that story helped, but what I guess I'm trying to say is that you will always have people that are there to support you. Even if the entire cast is against you, I got your back." Seb smiled and nudged Carlos' shoulder. Carlos laughed wetly and looked at Seb for the first time since his outburst. He bit his lip, hoping that what he said next didn't ruin everything.

"Thank you, Seb. Really. But, what…what is this? We haven't talked since homecoming so I just…I need to know what I am to you, or what you think, you know? Because I really like you. Like, like you like you. I don't know if homecoming was just as friends or if it was a date but I thought it was a date but if you didn't think it was a date then-"

"Carlos!" Seb shouted softly. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Carlos liked him? After everything he did at homecoming Carlos still liked him? Seb chose his next words carefully, not wanting to ruin anything. "Carlos…I…I like you too. Like like you like you." Seb smiled wider as Carlos huffed and rolled his eyes playfully, aware of Seb's obvious teasing. "I just…I wasn't sure how you felt after I practically stood you up at homecoming. I know you kind of forgave me but I was three hours late and I felt so bad about it and I didn't want to overstep if you were still upset about it." Seb didn't realize he was looking down until Carlos bent down to meet his eyes, guiding Seb to then look back up.

"Seb you know I forgave you for that-"

"I know you said you did but you didn't have to-"

"You had a family emergency-"

"It was for a cow-"

"Hey. From what I've heard your animals are very important to you and your family. Sure a text would have helped but you said you didn't have service and I believe you. You still showed up and you danced with me, which is all I wanted to do anyway." The two boys smiled at each other.

"Well, I'm still so so so sorry Carlos," Seb said, voice cracking at the end.

"It's okay. You're forgiven Seb." The room was quiet for a moment.

"So,"

"So," they said at the same time and laughed.

"Carlos?" Seb stood up, looking down at Carlos as he spoke. "Will you…do you maybe want to be my…boyfriend? Officially?" Seb asked nervously but with a hopeful smile. Carlos hesitated, never thinking he would ever be on the receiving end of that question just like Seb never thought he would get to ask. But, Carlos nodded, smiling as tears starting to fall down his cheeks again. Seb slung his arm over Carlos' shoulder and pulled him close. Carlos leaned his head on Seb's shoulder as Seb leaned his head on Carlos' head thanks to the added height due to him standing. Seb closed his eyes and smiled while Carlos allowed himself to smile a little, even as the thoughts of Miss Jenn and the disaster of a show resurfaced. They had a lot of work to do. It was going to be difficult, but Seb and Carlos were going to work it out together, and that was enough.

**The pictures that inspired this oneshot are below.**

[Phone Scene](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s9QxiqDin4d26VeiTPv_pPkzVC1qzl68)

[Piano Bench Hug Scene](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qeYOKh9yXi0QSHc0s0tR0Ic7_3vc0mr6)

**Author's Note:**

> I was really upset that the Seblos scenes were cut and this fandom is slow when it comes to content so I thought I'd write something myself. This is my first finished fanfiction so I'm sorry if it's no good:)


End file.
